Hank Willis Thomas came to speak at VCU this week, and he was like a breath of fresh air to the Photo Department (or at least to me and my peers).
He began the lecture by saying that he didn't really have anything planned. I took this as a great sign because he was confident and could obviously speak well of his work (unlike so many lecturers). Thomas' work was mainly based around consumer culture and what is concealed in media. He also deals with racial issues and the complexities of the terms "black" and "white" in our society. He shared with us a quote by one of his influences, Carl Handcock-Rux, about how being black or white in America doesn't mean anything and that race doesn't really exist. I found this a very profound, yet simple observation, and the work we viewed of his pertaining to this subject was equally as interesting.
Using graphic design and advertising formats, Hank W Thomas combines logos and icons to comment on the way Americans are so consumed in brand names and branding themselves, and not about real issues. Often overlooked are the harsh realities of America's past with slavery.
Branded Head (B(r)anded), Hank Willis Thomas, 2003. Lightjet print, size unknown. http://hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html.
Hank Thomas also shared with us the story of his deceased cousin, whom he grew up under, and the night he was robbed at gunpoint and killed. Collaborating with a friend, he used G.I. Joes action figures (the same ones he played with as a child) to make a stop-motion film with the information from the accounts of witnesses. With all of his studies in African American culture, Thomas found it ironic that their ancestors were brought over in chains and that his cousin died from another black man wanting the chains around his neck.
This my man Songha (Winter in America), Hank Willis Thomas, 2005. Lightjet print, size unknown. Made in collaboration with Olujimi Kambui. http://www.hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html.
By using these action figures, Hank Thomas intends to make the format of the story goofy and disarming. As a society, we are desensitized by violence, and with childsplay, children are used to knowing that even if your action figure "dies", you can just pick him back up and keep playing with him. Thomas highlights that the violent toys sold every day breed a culture of violent thought and scenarios before they're even old enough to read.
One of the final projects Hank W. Thomas shared with us was a contracted, collaborative piece called "Along the Way", a film with over 1,200 strangers of all different ages, backgrounds and cultures found in an airport in Oakland, California. These artists created a beautiful and hopeful video and it was a perfect end to the lecture.
Along the Way, The Cause Collective (H.L.Thomas), 2007. 30' x 10' video mosaic, Oakland International Airport. http://www.causecollective.com.
"Faces and places merge and commingle creating a vocabulary that evokes mood while underscoring place and movement with the unifying thread being the humanity of what we encounter "along the way" in a place like Oakland."
http://hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html
I'm so thrilled we got the chance to have this artist come speak to us. I really enjoyed his work and listening to his thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment